Cavin signs with Oklahoma Baptist

The first time Crystal Cavin saw the Oklahoma Baptist University campus was when she went for a soccer tryout.

The Miami High School senior liked it enough that she accepted a scholarship offer to the Shawnee school.

“I know it's a good place,” said Cavin, who plans on majoring in nursing. “It is smaller than what I expected. The first time I saw the campus was when I went for a soccer practice.”

Cavin was a three-year starter for the Lady Wardogs in the midfield. They qualified for the playoffs for the fourth straight year this season, losing 2-0 to Bixby in the first round.

“Crystal is a great player - she is very athletic,” assistant coach Brent Coates said. “We are very excited about what she is going to bring to our team. We're expecting her to come in and contribute her freshman year.”

Marcelo Galvao resigned earlier this month as OBU's head coach. Dr. Norris Russell, director of athletics at OBU, has recommended that Coates be named the successor, but no official announcement has been made.

“I need to do lots of running,” Cavin said. “I will have to be in shape.”

Cavin is one of 12 freshmen being signed for the Lady Bison program, which will be entering its fourth season this fall.

OBU went 9-6-1 this past season.

“We're still very young,” Coates said. “We played a pretty tough schedule. I felt we did well. We'll have the core group back, so we're really excited about this year.

“We're expecting to go to the national tournament.”

The Lady Bison were 12-4-1 in their second season of existence, reaching the finals in both the Sooner Athletic Conference and NAIA Region VI tournaments.

“We're really excited,” Coates said. “It's shaping up to be a great class and Crystal is a great addition for us.”

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